In July 1930, ‘responding to a widespread and responsible demand’, the Ministry of Health issued Memorandum 153/MCW permitting Local Authorities to give birth control advice to married women for whom a further pregnancy would be detrimental to health. Having regard to the ‘acute division of public opinion’ on the issues of birth control, the Memorandum was clear that such advice would not be given to anyone falling outside this small group – that is men, whether married or otherwise, and unmarried women. Despite its limited remit, the Memorandum 153/MCW was an important recognition of the fact that ‘while the right number of children means happiness in the home, more than that number is just the reverse’.
The full version of this landmark is written by Joanne Beswick